Pumpkin Gingerbread (mini loaves!)

This perfectly portioned recipe is a soft pumpkin bread with a slight hint of cocoa and wonderful aroma of gingerbread.
This recipe yields 8 mini loaves using an 8 well mini loaf pan, OR a regular 9x5 loaf.

Ingredients
  1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  1/2 cup egg beaters
  1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
  7.5 oz pumpkin puree (half of a 15 oz can)
  1 cup splenda
  1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  1/8 tsp butter extract

  1 teaspoon ground ginger
  1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  2 tbsp all purpose flour
  2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  3/4 teaspoon salt (1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease your wells or loaf pan with nonstick spray. Combine splenda, applesauce, pumpkin, milk, and eggs beaters, and beat until smooth. In a different bowl, the rest of the ingredients (spices, flours, salt, and baking soda and powder). Whisk well.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry and use an electric beater to beat until you have everything blended together well, your outcome should be a thick batter. Divide batter between wells or pour into loaf pan.
Bake until toothpick comes out clean in the center.
8 wells: 25 minutes
9x5 loaf: about 1 hour

Nutritional info: 120 calories per 1/8 recipe (1 mini loaf, or 1/8th of 9x5 loaf), plain.
Decorate or glaze however you wish and add to your nutritional info accordingly.


**low-calorie powdered sugar.
I used 1/2 cup splenda, 1 tbsp cornstarch and it worked perfectly.
Then, add a little vanilla extract to it and about 2 1/2 tsp almond milk and mix together for a thick, great setting glaze. Drizzle. :)

Zucchini Brownie Bread (mini loaves!)

I love myself right now for making this. I'm dying inside over this recipe. I'm making it again tomorrow.. or maybe tonight.. it's that good.
Warning: Your kitchen will smell like a chocolate factory.

Spread with any spread you like - be creative! I only spread half of mine (with a hazelnut spread), because I wanted everyone to taste how great they are plain, too.

 The recipe name was inspired by my mom - who could not believe these healthy little treats. I was originally going to call it 'chocolate zucchini bread' or 'snack cakes' or something, but she kept shrieking "it's a BROWNIE!" and my gosh, it sure tastes like one..

Moist, chocolate and buttery tasting -- no one will believe these are healthy. It's seriously crazy.

Perfect for breakfast, with coffee, or as a snack.

Obviously I couldn't stop taking pictures because this recipe is too good all belief.

I love portioned stuff, it's so cute, and that way, everyone gets their own!

You can make this recipe multiple ways:
I used an 8 well mini loaf pan, and divided my batter into 6, making 6 small mini loaves. You can make one medium size bread loaf, 3 regular size mini loaves, etc etc, you just need to change the baking time for the recipe. You could probably also make massive muffins out of this too. Hmm.. maybe next time :D
The short version of it is - each of these are only 100 calories (recipe divided by 6). Mini loaf to yourself for 100 calories? Yeah, worth getting one of those pans.. See bottom for more nutritional babbling.
Plus they're really cool just to make other single serving type stuff, decorate different ones in different ways.. possibilities are endless!


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup splenda
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 tsp butter extract

1 cup zucchini, grated (about 1 small or medium squash, about 189g)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Omitting the squash until the end, combine wet and dry ingredients separately and whisk both well. Use an electric beater and beat the wet and dry ingredients together until you have a thick bread batter. STIR the shredded zucchini into the batter. Use a nonstick cooking spray and spray whatever pan you want to use. Divide batter into 6 wells (if using an 8 well mini loaf pan), or divide into other sprayed pan accordingly.
Bake for 25-30 minutes using mini loaves, or more if making a larger loaf. Check for doneness with a toothpick or knife, center should come out clean. Loaf should be risen and slightly firm to touch.
Let cool or eat warm. AMAZING reheated - microwave for 15 seconds.

Nutritional info is 585 for the whole recipe, I'm rounding up to 600 for varying ingredients in such things (such as unsweetened applesauce), so just divide it as you want depending on what you make.
If you make it the way I did, each one of your mini loaves is an 100 calorie portion. Add up how much spread you use (I used a 1/2 tsp of hazelnut spread on mine), and you've got your nutritional info for your portion. :)

Fall Into Fall Cornbread

This cornbread has a rich cinnamon flavor, with a hint of molasses and pumpkin. When I made it and shared it, I was told it tasted like fall. I happen to agree..

and I happen to love fall.

This bread is a perfect side to an autumn dinner, particularly soup or chili.

Ingredients
Dry
1/2 cup all purpose flour (I used wheat)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup splenda 

1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Wet

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

3 tbsp egg beater
2 tbsp applesauce 
1 tbsp plain yogurt
1/2 tablespoon molasses

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients and whisk together well. Combine wet ingredients separately and then stir together the wet and dry together until you get a sticky bread dough.

Roll out dough onto a sprayed or greased sheet and cut into 8 equal pieces. The dough should be about a half inch thick. You could also use a scone pan for this that yields 8. Bake for 13-15 minutes at your discretion. Enjoy warm or let cool and reheat later! This bread tastes best warm.
Spread with butter, pumpkin butter, whatever you like!
  
Nutritional info: 70 calories per 1/8th of recipe 

Magical Pumpkin Bread Muffin

There's a couple great things about this recipe. One, it's a giant pumpkin muffin that has a comforting, gooey, cinnamon fall taste.

Two, it's ready in less than five minutes.. because you can make it in the microwave. I'm not kidding.

Top it with pumpkin butter for extra yumminess like I did.. or anything you want, for that matter. Next time, I may just go with icing for more of a cupcake.

Ingredients:
Slice of bread (I use Sara Lee's 45 calories per slice)
2 tbsp egg beaters
2 tbsp canned pumpkin
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tbsp splenda (or sweetener to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Tear up a piece of bread into small pieces and place it in a small ramekin sprayed with nonstick spray (works best) or mug. Combine ingredients together and beat well. Then, pour your mixture over the bread and place in the microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and devour.

Nutritional info: 74 calories for one plain muffin (without pumpkin butter or hershey's kiss)

Fluffy Herb Biscuits

Have you ever wanted one biscuit? Or two? I had actual pasta last night for dinner for the first time in a long time and I really wanted biscuits to go with it.
I wanted them to be good, though, like Red Lobster biscuit equivalency good. So I came up with this recipe.
I will never crave restaurant quality biscuits again at home, because they are now at my disposal whenever I want.

Ingredients:

To make just one biscuit, use:
1 tbsp + 2tsp all purpose flour
1 tsp coconut flour
1 tbsp milk (I used unsweetened coconut milk)
1 tbsp vanilla (or plain) yogurt
pinch of salt salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
Spices to taste (I used parsley flakes and garlic powder)

To make two biscuits, use:
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp milk (I used unsweetened coconut milk)
2 tbsp vanilla (or plain) yogurt
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
Spices to taste (I used parsley flakes and garlic powder)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all ingredients together until the texture you get is bread dough. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick, and dollop onto the pan. If you're like me and like making food cute, set a cookie cutter on the sheet and push the dough into it and gently bring the cookie cutter up. These biscuits will retain the shape. Don't worry about their thickness, they will bake just fine and rise! Bake for ten minutes. Serve warm, or let cool and reheat later! These are great reheated. You can also freeze them once cooled and reheat them if you want to have some easily saved.

Additional Notes: If you want a more buttery taste, all you have to do is add a tiny bit of butter extract, or spray dough a couple times with spray butter. This won't add calories but there will be even more of a butter taste to your biscuits!

Nutritional info: One biscuit, 60 calories

Pumpkin Honey Cornbread Muffins

A couple months ago I wouldn't have even considered that I could have cornbread and eat it happily with no worries.

I can now, and for the love of fall coming, I wanted to make some.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp applesauce
2 tbsp splenda
1/2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp egg beater
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp coconut milk
1 tbsp greek yogurt
2 tbsp pumpkin

1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Instructions:
Combine wet ingredients into a bowl first, then and the dry ingrdients and mix up the batter. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to evenly distribute batter into a greased or sprayed muffin pan.
Bake for 25 minutes at 350. Let cool, and EAT!
I enjoyed mine with some pumpkin butter slathered on top. They're also really good microwaved for 15 seconds to make them softer again once they've cooled, and sprayed with spray butter.

Makes 3 servings.
Nutrional info: 293 calories
Per one muffin: 98 calories :)

Times the recipe by two to create a full loaf of bread, if that's what you want to make. Or six muffins!